Moonlight Serenade
by BlueEyesUnderTheFedora
Summary: The O.Z. has a special flower that only blooms at Castle Gale. Why does it only bloom there? And how did they become so magical? It has to do with a certain ancestor of DG, and destiny. All original characters. Rated T to be safe, and for later chapters..
1. Introduction

There exists a tradition in the O.Z., very much like our Valentine's Day, exept the Ozians do not give out chocolate and cards. They give out a special kind of flower to their one true love. What's so unique about this flower you ask? It stays closed during the day, and when night comes, it opens and a soft glow raditates from it's white petals.It continues to open at night and close during the day;never dying. The only place you can find this beautiful lilly, is on the grounds of Castle Gale. Every year, on the first day of spring, the royal family invites the people of the O.Z. to a celebration called, Delilah's Day. They celebrate all day, until just before the second sun sets, and nightfall comes. That's when the gentlemen of the party are allowed to take their pick of the buds that haven't yet bloomed. After they have chosen their buds, they take the flower back to their girlfriends, fiancees, and wives. The Queen then proceeds to tell the story of Delilah and her part in creating these magnificent flowers...

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**I hope I got you interested! I thought of this story one day,( waaaay too much time on my hands. lol) and I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I had to write it down. More chapters soon!**


	2. A Warning

Once, many centuries ago, the great great-granddaughter of Dorothy Gale, was princess of the O.Z. She was an ordinary girl, named Delilah, with long brown hair and green eyes. She loved to sit in her garden and paint the whole day away. She didn't have very many friends, so there really was nothing better to do. She loved to use her magic, and her favorite pastime was making the flowers dance in a beautiful serenade that only she could hear. She would play with her magic for hours until it got dark and one of the advisers would have to escort her back into the palace. Her mother and father were very strict, and took their role of King and Queen very seriously. The queen would not allow her daughter to mingle with commoners. Any maid, bodyguard, or cook would be immediately discharged if they spoke to her without being spoken to first. And as you can imagine, this made the task of making friends that much harder. 

The queen's adviser, An-non, always felt sorry for the young princess. So when they were alone, he would always tell her stories of the great Queen Dorothy and her adventures. She always reveled in the stories about how her friends saved her and protected her. Oh, how she would love for someone to love her like that!

"What became of the descendants of the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Lion?", she would always ask.

"I'm not sure, Princess Delilah. Maybe one day you'll meet one.", An-non would always say to cheer her up.

After that, she would turn in for the night; always praying that she would have an adventure of her own one day.

One night, her chance finally came. Delilah sat straight up in her bed, sweat pouring over her. She didn't know what had awaken her so violently, but she didn't like it. Her head ached, and she was glowing with her magic. A sudden wave of panic swept over her, and she found herself too frightened to move.

"Great, Gale.", she whispered. "What's wrong with me?"

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long because a moment later, her mother rushed into her room, looking every bit as frightened as she was.

"Delilah! My darling, are you all right?!"

"Yes, mother. I'm fine."

Her mother ran to her side and wrapped her arms around her. Her breathing started to return to normal as she stroked her daughter's hair.

"Oh, thank the stars that you are strong-willed! She couldn't get to you!"

Delilah was confused. She had never seen her mother this weak.

"Who, mother? What has happened? Does your head ache as well?"

Her mother looked at her with concern.

"Your head aches?"

She didn't wait for a response, but instead placed her hand on Delilah's head. A bright white glow went from her hand to her forehead, and then quickly disappeared. She started to relax a little, now that the pain was gone.

"What's going on?"

Her mother gave a deep sigh and regained some of her composure before she began.

"I do not want you to be afraid, my child. But the Old Witch of the West has somehow escaped from her prison. She is very old now, but still just as powerful. I believe that she tried to take you away from us while you were sleeping. That is why your head was throbbing. Her dark magic was ripping into your mind, trying to possess you."

Delilah's eyes grew wide.

"Possess me?! Why me?! Why not you?!"

"Because, my dear, you are very young. Your magic has not yet reached it's full potential. You are more vulnerable."

She sat silent for a while, compteplating all this. Her brain was scattered, and it took several moments for it to actually process any of what was going on.

"So...", the word somehow managed to stumble out of her mouth,"Am I safe? Will she come back?"

"Yes. But I am not sure when. The old hag used up a lot of her magic tonight. It may take her several days before she gets enough strength to try again."

Delilah was starting to panic. A tear ran down her cheek as she asked,

"Am I safe?"

Her mother looked at her with reassuring, brown eyes.

"As long as I have my magic, you will always be safe in this castle. _But_ this means you can no longer sit outside alone all day,Delilah. You must be watched and looked after until this is over. Same goes with all of us."

The queen didn't want to scare her daughter any more than she already was. She didn't want to tell her that if the witch got her strength back, then she could disguise herself and try to walk right into the castle. She could see her daughter trembling in the moonlight that shone through the window and she attempted to make her feel better.

"I shall get in touch with the Mystic Man immediately. See if he can send us some of his best tin men. They are good men who will look after you and keep you safe, Delilah."

Delilah stayed quiet for a while. This was too much information for her brain to comprehend all at once. The only words that she seemed to remember were: Witch and tin men.Though, as soon as the 'w' word entered her mind, she forced herself to forget it. Then, there were the tin men. She had never known one personally, though she would see them in Central City when her family would stay for a visit. She wondered what they were like. Her mother often spoke fondly of them, and praised them for protecting Delilah when they stayed at their City castle.

"O...o...okay.", was all she could say.

The queen kissed her daughter's forehead and said,

"You are safe now, darling. Try and get some sleep."

Delilah nodded her head as her mother got up and exited the room.

She curled up under her covers and waited for sleep to come. But it didn't come for a few hours. Not until the first sun had almost risen. When she finally drifted into a deep sleep, she started to dream.

In her dream she found herself in a beautiful garden surrounded by flowers. As she started to walk through them, she was stopped by a young woman wearing a plaid dress and pigtails. She suddenly realized who she was.

"Oh my. Your Dorothy! Your the Gray Gale!"

Dorothy made no acknowledgment as whether Delilah was heard. Instead, she looked at her with pity in her eyes. She looked incredibly sad.

"Oh, dear. What's wrong?"

Dorothy just hung her head and cried. Delilah then saw something she hadn't seen before. Dorothy was holding a witch's hat in her hands, and the black magic was burning her from the inside out. She could now see her bones peeking through her skin. Delilah screamed and backed up. All around her, the flowers were dying and white smoke was rising from them. The fields turned a sickly brown, and were shriveling up. Delilah was still backing up; she didn't want to take her eyes off of Dorothy for a second. Not looking where she was going, she accidentally ran into something and fell backwards. Delilah screamed a second time when she saw what she had tripped over. A man was laying in the dying fields. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell he was dead. She scooted back until her hand pressed against something hard. Delilah looked down and saw something shiny laying in the dirt. She reached for it, but before she could see what it was, her eyes shot open.

Delilah laid there in her bed. It was morning. The sun peeked through her curtains welcoming the new day. Delilah however, did not. She felt horrible, and could not get the terrifying visions out of her head. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her pillow. She could still smell the stench of burning flesh.

"Oh, gods."

She buried her head into her pillow and started to sob.


	3. Prophecy and a Glimpse

It was at least twenty minutes before Delilah stopped crying. After she gained control over herself, she got dressed and went to find her mother. She found her parents in the sitting room talking. They hadn't seen her, so she decided to stop and listen.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Delilah strained to hear what they were saying, but it was difficult to tell what they were talking about.

"He's had many years of experience, darling. It's a wise choice."

"_Who, father?!"_, Delilah thought.

"I know my daughter, Nicholas. And I know, at one point or another, things might get out of hand."

"_Gee, thanks for having such unwavering faith in me, mother."_, she thought.

"Aleena, you are getting ahead of yourself. Besides, the pros of my decision outweigh the cons. I am done discussing this."

There was a long silence before Delilah figured that it was safe for her to enter.

"_I really wish I had heard the beginning of that conversation._", she thought as she walked into the room. She walked in, and almost immediately her parents heads rose to meet her gaze. Her mother walked over to her and pressed her palm against her forehead.

"Are you feeling alright, angel? You weren't at breakfast this morning."

"I'm fine, mother. But, may I speak to you for a moment?"

She looked to Delilah's father, who in turn, nodded and left the room.

The queen motioned to the chair, instructing her daughter to sit.

"What do you require of me, my dear?"

Delilah took a deep breath and asked,"Mother, what does it mean when you dream of the Gray Gale?"

"You dreamed of the Gray Gale?", she nodded and the queen continued,"Oh how wonderful, Delilah! She must have been protecting you from the witch!"

Visions came flooding back into Delilah's mind of Dorothy's skin burning. She had to swallow hard to avoid becoming ill.

"So it means good fortune then?"

"That's what it usually means, yes."

"Well", Delilah tried to search for the right words,"What if the dream was more of a nightmare?"

The queen gave the princess a look she couldn't quite read. It was almost like shock,confusion, and horror all at once.

Now it was her turn to stumble over her words,"I...I've never heard of Queen Dorothy appearing in a nightmare before."

"_Great"_, Delilah thought,"_Now my mother thinks that I'm a demon child because the Great Dorothy Gale hates me."_

Both of them stayed silent for a moment before a maid entered the room. She bowed before the queen and the princess and waited until she was spoken to.

"Yes, Clara?", the queen spoke.

"Queen Aleena, the royal chef and I need to know how many are to be expected tomorrow, so we can prepare."

The princess looked to her mother, just as eager to hear how many Tin men were going to arrive the next day.

"Tell them about fifty. Actually Clara, I wish to assist you. I should really talk to the cooks anyway."

The queen rose to follow Clara, and Delilah's jaw practically hit the floor. Was her mother trying to ditch her?!

"Mom! What...what about my dream?"

"Honey, why don't you talk to one of the advisors? I'm sure they will be able to help you."

Delilah sat there in shock. Her mother had just brushed her off as if she was dust being swept under the rug! A deep growl escaped her throat, and she abruptly stood from the chair and stomped off to find An-non.

Delilah found An-non in his study in the East wing of the castle. She walked up to the open door and he immediately sensed her presence.

"Princess Delilah." He rose from his desk and took the princess's hand in his.

"Come in, your Highness." He then led her to an empty chair in front of his desk. He sat down across from her and waited for her to speak.

"I require your advice on a personal matter,An-non."

An-non looked at her hesitantly; a little scared of what she was going to ask of him.

"If I may ask Princess, if this is a personal matter then why don't you ask your mother for advice?"

Delilah had to suppress a snort. "_Oh, if you only knew..."_, she thought.

"Truth be told, you are much more wiser than my mother."

An-non smiled at the princess's boldness. She knew she could let go of the prim and proper act a little when she was around him.

"What is it that's bothering you, Delilah?"

She sighed before she began," Okay. Well, last night I had a nightmare." She paused for a moment, becoming hesitant about what she was about to say." And Dorothy was in it."

"Ah. I see.", An-non nodded. Now he realized why she had come to him. He tried to picture her talking to her mother about this. It was true, Queen Aleena wasn't very smart when it came to things like this. He had to smile in spite of himself. This was definitely something he could help her with. He stood up and started to walk around the room.

"So _you_ want to know if this is something you should be concerned with."

Delilah nodded.

"Well," An-non began, "When you see the Gray Gale in your dream, it doesn't nesssarly mean good _or_ bad luck. It usually means prophecy."

The princess's brow furrowed. She was more confused now than she was this morning.

"Um, prophecy?"

He sat down again and looked her in the eyes, becoming very serious.

"Princess, something very important is going to happen soon. The fact that you had this dream right after the witch escaped isn't surprising really. _But_ the fact that it was a nightmare is significant."

Delilah was literally hanging on the edge of her seat," Significant how? What's going to happen?"

An-non shook his head," I'm not sure."

She took an overdue breath and put her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry, Delilah. I wish I could tell you more than that, but I can't."

She put her hand on his and said," I'ts alright, An-non. You helped me a lot more than Mother did." She sighed. "This must be pretty big if even _you_ don't know what's going on."

He smiled as the princess rose from her seat.

"Thank you, An-non. I should be going now. Mother wants me to visit the tailor this afternoon for a fitting."

The advisor bowed and said," Very well, Princess Delilah. Glad that I could be of service."


End file.
